Nuances of Freedom: my personal journey

Nuances of Freedom at Iowa State University Memorial Union

If you would have told me five years ago that this time in my life was coming, I wouldn’t have believed you.

For the past four to five years, I’ve been sitting on my couch in the quiet, thinking, pondering, and sketching in my art journal. I’ve been going to my studio adding paint to canvas. I’ve been applying to art fairs and art exhibits, traveling and sharing my work in an ever widening circle around central Iowa.

The Beginning of “Nuances of Freedom”

One day, last winter I was asked if I was interested in exhibiting my work at the Iowa State University Memorial Union. I said “Yes” and agreed to bring 25+ medium to large paintings to be hung in December and January, which is good timing for me since I don’t normally travel for art shows during the winter. I spent this year looking forward to the show and creating new paintings knowing that the exhibit date would be coming up following my art fair season.

Nuances of Freedom at Iowa State University Ames, IA

The beginning of something else new

One other rather strange thing that has been happening to me recently at art fairs is that several people have repeatedly mentioned to me I should be exhibiting my work in Florida. Now as an artist from the heart of the prairies in Iowa, this was initially surprising to me. Doing an art show in Florida was not something I imagined myself to be doing in the near future. But, clients began to purchase my paintings and telling me they were planning on bringing the art to their condos in Florida. Others were telling me my colors and swirls and designs reminded them of water and I should be showing them in Florida. I began to listen to the comments about Florida that kept coming as I shared my work, and this fall decided to apply to art fairs in Florida for the month of January.

Nuances of Freedom Iowa State University Memorial Union Ames, IA

By October, I started to get acceptance letters from a couple of Florida shows. I got waitlisted to a few shows (“waitlisted” is artist talk for what happens if you almost make it into the show-it means if another artist drops out of the show, they might call you) and I got rejected from a few shows (which is another thing that happens frequently to artists).

By Thanksgiving I had to finish all of my paintings for the Iowa State show and I had to make decisions about what Florida shows to attend and how I was going to handle all the logistics of going to Florida.

Nuances of Freedom Opens

And then, after a year of planning, painting and preparation, my art exhibit Nuances of Freedom opened on Dec. 14 at the Iowa State University Memorial Union Gallery. Over the last month, I’ve had a delightful time sharing the show with friends and family who have visited over the holidays. A couple of school groups are scheduled to visit the gallery, who I have the opportunity to talk with about the art. I’m looking forward to the upcoming Art Reception on Tuesday, Feb. 5 from 6-8pm in the Memorial Union Gallery. For more information on the show, visit Memorial Union Exhibits Ames Artist Van Zee’s Work-Ames Tribune.

Florida

In addition, I have my first art fair in Florida this upcoming weekend. I’ll be sharing my art at the Las Olas Art Fair in Ft. Lauderdale from Jan. 5 & 6. I’ll also be exhibiting at Boca Fest in Boca Raton, FL on Jan. 12 & 13 and the Boca Raton Fine Art Show on Jan. 27 & 28.

If you would have told me even a year ago that I would be simultaneously having a large exhibit of my work here in Iowa, while doing three art shows in Florida, I wouldn’t have imagined it would be possible. It’s like the journey to creating the Nuances of Freedom show spilled over into other parts of my art business and my life. Stepping into a lifestyle of choosing freedom on a regular basis, helped me to find the creative courage to pursue other goals.

Nuances of Freedom at Iowa State University Ames, IA

A Lifestyle of Freedom

Our human condition is to not feel freedom, but to focus on pain, pressures, restrictions, perfectionism, doubts, and fears. But, expressing our creativity helps us to tap into our inner core, to tap into our spirit within where vast resources of energy, abundance and intuitive knowing await. Expressing my creativity helps me to process my life, to leave a record of the fact “I was here” and to share the beauty I see. Painting allows me a place for my internal thoughts and insights to be processed visually.

“Monitoring the Waves Lengths” at Nuances of Freedom

We all have things we want to do in our lives-passions to pursue, dreams to fulfill, hopes that life could be different. We all experience pain, hurt, fear, and at some point we have to decide “what is going to win?” Will it be the lies or the truth? Am I going to live a restricted, “safe” life or a life of freedom? I’m not talking about the freedom to do “whatever we want, when we want to” or the freedom to hurt or injure others, or our own bodies, but rather an internal freedom to make choices that will be healthy and life giving to us and those around us.

I know that art can move us, heal us, inspire us and assist us to make sometimes imperceptible shifts and changes that can eventually, over time, with repeated actions, help us to make choices and develop habits that break us free from the negative and bring us to places we may never have imagined possible.